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World War III (2017-2023)
Note: This is intended to be a relatively open timeline; please contribute if you want, but be plausible and in line with the scenario. Anything I don't approve of can and will be deleted. Also, this is not meant to be an actual prediction, merely a hypothetical. World War III 'was a global conflict involving nearly the entirety of the world's nations, lasting from 2017 to 2023. It was the deadliest conflict in human history, as the death toll clocked in at nearly triple that of World War II, in addition to global damage to infrastructure and severe pollution and other unintended factors that were the result of the war. The war was fought between two massive alliances composed of the greatest powers in the world, each with hundreds of millions of men and women under arms, in addition to enormous amounts of economic and industrial commitments to the war from both sides. The war began as a regional conflict, but, in a similar fashion to the first two world wars, entangling military alliances dragged the world's most powerful, and most destructive, countries into the battle. Background The conflict began in the Middle Eastern/Arab subcontinent as a conflict between several military alliances, coalitions, terrorist groups, individual countries, etc. The date of the destabilization of the region dates back to the early 20th century, but throughout the early 21st century, a series of foreign policy failures by Europe and the United States, such as the invasion of Iraq, subsequent abandonment of Iraq, and allowing ISIS and Assad's regime to rise to power, brought the tension to a fever pitch and caused widespread chaos, the rise of terrorist regimes, and other unfortunate events. The enemies of the west, including Russia and China, then used these failures on the world stage to undercut the failed foreign policies of leftist leaders in the U.S. and Europe and implement their own. This led to a series of proxy wars in the middle east, such as Iran and Russia's military intervention in Syria, which, when combined with further western failures, served to transform the region into a powder keg just waiting to explode. Russian President Vladimir Putin began using air bases in Syria to attack the Free Syrian Army (backed by the USA) and ISIL, supporting his ally, Bashar al-Assad. Now, the issue with this situation is that the United States and its allies perceived Assad's regime as a brutal dictatorship, while Putin saw value in an alliance with him, presumably leverage against the United States and the restabilization of Syria by allowing a single power to assume control and eliminate the power vacuum left by the USA. While the Russians were working in Syria, ISIS and the Assad regime made the war torn country just about unlivable for millions of people, who soon migrated to Europe, Jordan, Turkey, and other western nations to escape the strife, bringing Islamic traditions with them, as well as ISIS (which sneaked in with the massive crowds), serving to spread unrest to those areas. Some countries, such as Hungary, even began gassing and attacking migrants who illegally crossed their borders. Following the European migrant crisis, the EU fragmented and began falling apart in some ways, mostly diplomatic rather than actual fragmentation of the union. The new division in Europe plus the conflicting objectives of the airstrikes by Russia and the anti-IS coalition in the same airspace were breeding grounds for unintended conflicts, and the Turkish became entangled when a growing independence movement came from the Kurds in the southern region of the country and the northern region of Syria and Iraq. So, Russia's airstrikes against ISIS were, in a sort of "''de facto" type of manner, helping the Syrian Kurds at war with ISIS, in direct conflict with Turkish interests. Turkey repeatedly called on Russia to stop its airstrikes and to stop violating its airspace throughout late 2015, with no true response or change in practice from the Russians. Eventually, the Turkish air force was forced to escort several Russian bombers out of their airspace, and even shoot one down in late 2015, prompting fears of a war, but Putin wanted to avoid a conflict of the magnitude that going to war with Turkey would start, and, along with Turkey and the United States, created a no fly zone, which Rand Paul (a 2016 presidential candidate) later called a "recipe for World War 3." He turned out to be right. After the disastrous creation of the no fly zone, Iran obtained nuclear weapons in mid-2016 with suspected secret help from the Russians, and began to threaten the stability of the Middle East further. Barack Obama even threatened to bomb Iranian nuclear weapons sites if they threatened the US or one of its allies, even though he had no intention of doing so and was just focusing on leaving office without the start of a world war tacked on to his already shaky legacy. In the 2016 election, Marco Rubio narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in one of the closest elections in American history and shocked the nation, and began planning his first acts as president, which entailed a tough middle eastern policy, which would possibly have worked before the escalation of the tensions, but was a recipe for disaster in 2017. After his inauguration in January, he was briefed on the situation in the middle east, and was informed that Syrian aircraft and Russian aircraft had violated the no fly zone several times, and told Turkey "If it happens again, don't hold back," in a speech at Ankara on his tour of the world in which he greeted American allies. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Turkey did on April 1, 2017, when they shot down several Syrian bombers over Kurdistan, prompting a declaration of war from Assad, but not Putin. Turkey later invaded Syria and ousted several of the fighting armies relatively quickly but accidentally shot down a Russian aircraft after mistaking it for a Syrian one, prompting a declaration of war from Russia, which began hitting key targets in Turkey, dragging the United States, EU, and others into the conflict, prompting the apocalyptic '''Third World War. Timeline: The Buildup October 2015 *20 October: The United States and Russia sign an agreement to avoid air battles over Syrian airspace. Meanwhile, Justin Trudeau pulls out of the anti-ISIS coalition. *22 October: A raid on ISIS by the Kurds frees 69 captives. *31 October: Halloween November 2015 * 2 November: Delegates from Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United States finish their conference in Vienna discussing the Syrian Civil War and migrant crisis. An agreement is reached establishing a no fly zone over northern Syria, although it is in the general area of Putin's airstrikes and he is infuriated and fires foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. * 3 November: Russia imposes regulations that make it nearly impossible for Russians to travel to Turkey or Saudi Arabia and vice versa. * 5 November: Following another violation of Turkish airspace by Russian bombers, the Turkish air forces grounds the bomber and Turkey cuts off most of its ties with Russia, including banning all Turkish contractors and firms from working with Russians on the construction of stadiums for the 2018 World Cup. * 6 November: Recep Erdogan stops buying Russian made natural gas cold turkey to disastrous results. The Turkish government begins looking elsewhere to meet their needs to isolate Russia. * 7 November: Putin's counter to Turkey's boycott is to cut off Turkey from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) entirely, hurting Turkey more than Turkey had hurt Russia. Turkey now loses $2 billion in export revenue. * 10 November: A Turkish journalist dies in a car crash in Moscow, further deteriorating Russo-Turkish relations. * 20 November: A Russian plane is shot down over Turkey and several news sites proclaim "the start of World War III," although Putin dismisses these assertions and accepts fault for the incident, vowing to be more careful. 2016 * 1 January: Yet again, Turkey is forced to ground a Russian aircraft despite Putin's speech proclaiming an "intent to repair relations with Turkey." A much larger no fly zone is established in Syria. * 17 February: Several of the caucasus nations join the EEU, furthering the isolation of Turkey, which has begun to take an economic downturn. * 3 April: A leaked video of Putin talking about annexing Belarus and Baltics sparks a massive controversy, Putin dismisses the issue as a "hypothetical." The White House begins monitoring Russian activities much more closely. * 25 June: Iran announces that it has obtained nuclear weapons to the outrage of conservatives across the western world. Barack Obama accuses the Kremlin of "aiding a terrorist regime in obtaining the most devastating weapons in human history." * 27 June: Several Republicans call on Obama to apologize to the American people for his failed policies towards Iran and his disastrous nuclear deal. He does not reply. * 28 June: Obama calls Putin asking for peace and cooperation in the middle east, but nothing of substance is realized. * 30 June: Nearly all of the Free Syrian Army's leaders and commanders are killed in a Russian airstrike along the Turkish border. Both Erdogan and Obama denounce the act claiming that attacking the Free Syrian Army is counterproductive on all fronts. * 3 July: Putin delivers a speech in which he explains the motives behind his attacks on the FSA, saying that if the Syrian government were to be overthrown, the inexperienced new government would be too vulnerable to ISIS and that it would lead to increased suffering and turmoil in the region. * 4 July: America celebrates Independence Day. * 6 July: Turkey caves to Russian sanctions and takes back its trade boycott in exchange for the reopening of Russian natural gas markets. * 7 July: Iran demands that Israel release Palestine or face nuclear annihilation. * 8 July: Netanyahu demands the Iran dismantle its nuclear weapons or face nuclear annihilation, humiliating the Rouhani regime. * 10 July: Barack Obama says that if Iran continues threatening US allies, he will bomb Iran's nuclear weapons and destroy them. * 8 November: Marco Rubio is elected the 45th President of the United States, narrowly defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton. He begins planning his "Stand Firm Tour," in which he will visit US allies and ensure them of American support. * 10 November: Barack Obama refers to the election as a "dark day for American history" * 11 November: Putin violates the no fly zone for the first time in 2016, prompting concerns from Turkey and America once again. * 17 November: Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin announce that the war in Syria is "all but over." * 19 November: Putin orders his Joint Chiefs of Staff to begin drafting plans for the event of a war with Turkey or the west in case one should come in the near future. * 22 November: The FSA lays down its arms and surrenders and Assad begins administering to the rest of Syria once again, although strong pockets of resistance still exist. * 4 December: A Russian plane is almost shot down by the US in Syria after violating the no fly zone. * 7 December: The remainder of Central Asia and the caucasus join the EEU. * 12 December: The Russian ambassador to the UN accidentally lets it slip that Russia was drafting "war plans" * 14 December: Obama demands an explanation from Putin but does not receive one. * 16 December: South Africa leaves the BRICS nations following "unhealthy Russian aggression" * 18 December: Iran's troops in Syria begin mobilizing along the Turkish border, prompting intense questioning from the UN with no real response. The War Begins: The Spring Crisis (2017) * 20 January: Rubio is sworn in as President. * 21 January: Putin calls Rubio requesting peace between the two nations and a "cooperative future." * 6 March: Rubio's Stand Firm Tour begins with a visit to London, where he makes a speech looking forward to working with the British to maintain peace and stability in the world. * 10 March: Rubio lands in Germany and makes a similar speech, this time urging Germany to close its borders to migrants. Putin announces that he agrees with this stance. * 12 March: Turkey grounds more Russian planes and threatens to attack Russian bases in Syria. Rubio's plane is grounded in Lebanon and an assassination attempt by an ISIS-affiliate is foiled. * 20 March: Marco Rubio arrives in Jerusalem following a promise of peace by Erdogan, and makes a speech vowing to protect Israel from the "maniacal Iranians." Rouhani orders the transport of nuclear missiles to the west border of Iran and Rubio is promptly flown out of Israel. * 23 March: Rubio's "Don't hold back" speech is delivered in Ankara. The War Begins: April 2017 * 1 April: Turkey shoots down one of the few remaining Syrian air force planes in existence and Syria declares war on Turkey citing "repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty and false accusations" * 2 April: Assad's forces, along with Iran's invade Turkey at 01:00. Turkey and Iran exchange declarations of war in the dead of night. The Turkish air force hammers the Syrian government's zone of control in Syria and quickly expels Iran and Syria from its borders with severe airstrikes and countermeasures. Turkey preps an invasion of Syria. Russia, America, and several other nations declare neutrality. * 3 April: Russia declares a general mobilization of its forces. The Turkish advance into Syria continues and Iran's military in Syria is crippled along with Syrian hardware, which is damaged severely in airstrikes. * 4 April: Israel mobilizes. NATO asks Turkey to halt its invasion and seek peace. Turkish planes bomb Damascus and Assad is injured. Putin refuses to fly him to Russia in order to maintain neutrality. * 7 April: Turkey captures ISIS held cities in northern Syria with ease while airstrikes continue. The UN dispels rumors of world war 3 by declaring that the conflict is "regional and contained." * 13 April: Turkey mistakenly shoots down a Russian recon plane, which was not in the no fly zone. Putin orders airstrikes on Turkish forces and declares war on Turkey. NATO decides to vote on whether to declare war on Russia and Syria while the USA mobilizes forces and bulks up naval forces in the Pacific and around Alaska. * 14 April: NATO votes not to declare war, but decides that individual nations are free to do so. Turkish forces reach Damascus and Assad is evacuated to Moscow and sets up a provisional Syrian government. * 15 April: Turkey places Syria under direct military occupation and begins an attempt to expel ISIS from the territory. Much of Europe and Asia declare neutrality. Meanwhile, Russian warships engage the Turkish fleet in the Black Sea. * 16 April: ISIS detonates a series of car bombs in Ankara while the Russians launch an offensive against Georgia in order to prepare an invasion of Turkey. Russia launches long range missile attacks on the Israelis after they bomb Iranian missiles, crippling their nuclear weapons delivery capabilities. Russia and Israel exchange declarations of war. * 17 April: The USA declares war on Russia, Iran, and Syria. India and China declare their neutrality. American bombers deliver several strikes to the Russian naval bases along the east coast and attacks Anadyr. * 18 April: Putin orders that an offensive into Europe be drafted in the event of a war with NATO. Russian planes strafe the northern coast of Turkey while Georgia capitulates and Russian troops mobilize along the Turkish border. * 19 April: Russia declares martial law. Congress turns over several powers of the legislature to the executive branch to allow Rubio to carry out functions necessary to carry out the war with greater ease. Turkey expels ISIS from Syria, while the tide of the Black Sea battle turns against them. * 20 April: Russia launches an expedition into Turkey and starts by bombing key military targets. America send troops to the Mediterranean to aid the Turkish war effort. Meanwhile, Israel and Turkey divide up Syria into zones of occupation to help Turkey fight off the Russians. Iraq declares war on Israel, and in effect, the rest of the western alliance. * 22 April: When American troops enter Turkey, the Russian offensive stalls at Erzurum. Putin's generals submit plans to invade western Ukraine and the Baltics with the warning that implementation of these plans will escalate the conflict greatly. Egypt declares war on Israel. * 23 April: Russian planes fly from the Black Sea to Istanbul, dealing massive damage to infrastructure. America bombs Russian harbors. * 25 April: Pakistan and Iran go to war following border clashes. India and China declare neutrality, while Turkish and Israeli planes hit western Iran. Iran issues an ultimatum to the remainder of the Iraqi government: enter the war on the Iranian side or face invasion. * 26 April: Iraq declares war on the western nations, and is subsequently attacked by Turkey. The Russian offensive resumes after a few days, and Russian ships reach the nothern coast of Turkey, using Crimea as a base. * 27 April: Rubio pressures his middle eastern allies to enter the conflict while Egyptian rockets fire at Israel from the Sinai Peninsula. Israel begins drafting plans to occupy the Sinai and possibly launch a fullscale offensive into Egypt. Russian bombers are shot down over Alaska. * 29 April: Turkish missiles damage Crimean naval bases and hit occupied Tbilisi, while the Russians continue gaining ground against them. Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula and American F-15s begin air superiority and bombing campaigns over Suez and the Black Sea. May 2017 * 1 May: Egypt begins evacuating troops from the Sinai following a disastrous attempt to reclaim lost territory. Russian airstrikes damage the presidential palace in Ankara and the Turkish government is moved to Rome temporarily. Russia from then on refuses to recognize Italian neutrality and declares war. American bombers strike Cairo, Suez, and other Egyptian cities. Israel invades Lebanon. Jordan enters the war on the side of the USA amid pressures from Marco Rubio. * 2 May: A Russian rocket damages an ancient landmark in Turkey, a move denounced by the global community. Putin sets the date for the Ukraine attack as June 1. Israeli forces deal devastating damage to Egyptians, while Jordan's first offensive move is to bomb Baghdad and western Iran. * 3 May: Saudi Arabia joins the war on the side of the USA. Iran launches an offensive into northern Pakistan, causing Rubio to call on India to save their ally in the Middle East. India again declares neutrality. China announces enormous increases in military spending. * 4 May: Iran's forces in Iraq launch an offensive into eastern Jordan to extreme resistance. Ankara is bombed to rubble in 18 hours of straight airstrikes, through which Russia hopes to force a surrender. * 5 May: A bomb goes off in Damascus, killing the leader of the Israeli forces occupying the region and ISIS claims responsibility for the attack. In light of Turkey's impending collapse, Australia enters the war on the side of the USA. Russia calls on the BRIC nations to enter the conflict. * 6 May: When North Korean forces clash with South Korean forces along the border of the two countries, Japan and China are dragged into the conflict, and China mobilizes along its entire southern border. India is forced to mobilize, prompting a declaration of war from India on the side of the USA, and India is expelled from the BRIC, leaving the BRC. * 7 May: Rubio makes a speech in Washington, asserting his commitment to the war effort and promises not to let his country down. Iran's offensive into Jordan is shattered and a counterattack is launched by Saudi Arabia and Jordan. * 8 May: Russian planes take off from an unknown location and bomb eastern Italy. Israel places the Sinai under direct occupation and US bombings of Suez stop. The alliance is now in control of the Suez Canal. The Saudi Red Sea Fleet secures several eastern Egyptian ports. * 9 May: Turkey's government flees Italy following more airstrikes and moves to Washington DC. The Turkish Army surrenders at Ankara, although other divisions and units fall back to the west. Syria's northern district is rid of Turkish occupation. ISIS clashes with Jordanian invaders and uses mustard gas to stall their advance. The Iranians then launch a counteroffensive against Jordan, pushing them back to their own borders within a week. * 11 May: Turkey declares an evacuation of their nation entirely and a relocation to Jordan, Israel, and Italy. The Russian air force achieves air superiority over Syria and Turkey. Lebanon surrenders, and Israel sets up a zone for alliance forces to land in the area to reclaim the middle east. Haifa becomes the alliance's center of operations. * 12 May: Indian forces violate Nepalese neutrality by capturing several mountain bases and beginning an offensive into the Tibetan Plateau, which has been heavily fortified by the Chinese. * 13 May: American and Italian troops arrive in Istanbul, and American fighter jets begin fighting Russia for control of the skies, the Russian advance through western Turkey grinds to a halt. India sends forces into Pakistan to halt the Iranian advance, in addition to bombing Tehran and destroying several nuclear facilities, crippling Iranian deadly strike capabilities. * 14 May: The Russians go on the defensive following a counterattack in southern and western Turkey, while Italian ground troops arrive in Egypt. Meanwhile, Russian bombers hit Alaska and China sends submarines into American Pacific waters. Japan and South Korea begin launching missiles at Pyongyang, injuring Kim Jong Un, who flees to Moscow. * 15: A stalemate begins on all fronts. * 27 May: Jordan's forces are overwhelmed at their eastern border and Iran invades, while Saudi Arabia launches missiles across the Persian Gulf at Iranian positions in Pakistan to assist the Indians, who begin making progress as well. * 29 May: The CIA declares that India and Israel had destroyed all 10 of Iran's nuclear weapons. June 2017 * 1 June: Russia bombs several targets in free Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia. Belarus declares war on the alliance. The majority of Europe enters the war against Russia. Russian tanks pour across the western border into its neighbors' territories, and a combined Finnish-Polish force occupies Kaliningrad Oblast and Russia declares war on Finland. Egypt surrenders after a decisive loss at Cairo. Israel claims it is unable to occupy the rest of Egypt because it is already spread too thin, so the Saudis step in to do so. Egypt sets up a provisional government in Tehran. * 2 June: Estonia and Latvia fall, while Lithuania is invaded. Russia requests an invasion plan for Scandinavia and eastern/central Europe. * 3 June: The Ukrainians are overwhelmed and flee to the west, falling back to nearly Kiev. The Russians retreat to the east in Turkey, falling back to Ankara. Iraqi forces occupy Free Syria in case of an alliance attempt to retake the area. * 7 June: Lithuania is able to hold its defensive lines and wait for NATO support, and NATO makes Berlin its center of operations in the European conflict. India is pushed out of China and Nepal, back to its original borders and begins shelling the northern area of the nation, and India pulls out of Pakistan to defend itself. * 9 June: The Russians are pushed further back in Turkey, and begin another massive bombing run of Istanbul, while the Iranians launch an attack on Turkey to assist the Russians. * 10 June: NATO planes bomb occupied Latvia. The Jordanian government moves to Rome following the fall of Amman, and the Saudis step in to fight the Iranians after leaving Egypt, which plans an attack on Israeli occupied areas. * 11 June: Iran and Russia turn around the situation in Turkey, while Iraq attacks occupied Syria, forcing Israel to allocate more resources there. The Americans destroy several Russian warships in the Black Sea. * 14 June: Iran completes its occupation of Pakistan very quickly, while NATO is pushed out of Lithuania and Kaliningrad is reclaimed by Russia. Russian planes bomb Warsaw and Helsinki. * 17 June: Egypt launches an attack on the Sinai and is quickly repulsed when Italian and American planes hammer Cairo and the surrounding areas. * 19 June: Russia launches its attack on Scandinavia ahead of schedule in order to cut the Baltics off from NATO support, along with an attack on Poland. Iran is pushed back by Saudi forces and Chinese positions in Tibet are destroyed in Indian air raids. * 22 June: India begins drafting plans to invade China again. * 24 June: The Russians lay siege to Helsinki, while American submarines in the Pacific are hammered by Chinese and Russian subs. China and Russia begin drafting plans to soften the American west coast in hopes of possibly occupying it later on to deter America from continued war involvement. * 28 June: Russian reinforcements hit the beaches of Helsinki from the south after leaving Tallinn, and the city is captured by nightfall. India postpones its invasion of China. * 30 June: Iran and Iraq launch a blitzkrieg against Israel and Saudi Arabia, aided by Egypt and reach Jerusalem quickly. July 2017 * 2 July: The Russian occupation of Finland is completed, and the Northern and Western coasts of Norway are occupied. Russia lays siege to Stockholm after crossing the Gulf of Bothnia. * 4 July: Several American bombers are shot down over eastern Siberia. * 6 July: Sweden falls and Russia attacks Oslo and begins an attack on Denmark. Russian aircraft are moved to Egersund to prepare aerial assaults on western Europe. The Swedish and Finnish governments-in-exile are set up in London. * 7 July: Polish and NATO forces are surrounded at Warsaw when the Russians encircle the city after the siege takes too long. * 9 July: India sends small stealth forces into China to sabotage their military encampments. Warsaw falls and Poland capitulates. Norway surrenders and moves its government to Washington DC. The Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia is repulsed quickly and Iran is forced to withdraw from Jordan, Israel, and Syria. Turkish forces reoccupy Syria after Russia moves most of its forces to the European front, hoping to knock out the major players in the war before moving on to the Middle East. * 12 July: German troops, fearing a collapse of alliance lines, begin fortifying Berlin. Angela Merkel promises to defend Germany at all costs and makes a poignant speech, proclaiming "an undying resolve, even with the enemy marching through the gates" * 14 July: Russia blitzes Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, occupying them all within the day in an extraordinary feat of military power. However, the occupation force is relatively small and revolts break out in many of the areas. However, Serbia opens a second front against Romania, crushing any uncertainty of Russian victory. * 16 July: The Russians begin stockpiling ammo and troops along the western borders of occupied territories, while Marco Rubio meets with his generals, telling them they can have "whatever is necessary" for carrying out the war. NATO bombs occupied territories. * 20 July: India invades China following the decimation of Chinese positions after explosive charges destroy nearly a mile of fortifications, opening an area for invasion. India declares that it has no interest in a oong war with China, and wants merely to deter further aggression by the Chinese. Xi Jinping offers to open negotiations, since Putin is pressuring him to assist in Europe and America. * 22 July: The occupation of Denmark is completed. Vladimir Putin orders a "massive expansion" in Russian military capabilities over the next several months to defeat the west, coincidentally on the same day that the western alliance agrees to institute a draft in all of its respective territories. * 23 July: Russian troops are pushed back to occupied Georgia, but Turkey is left in no position to continue fighting, so American forces secure Turkey's eastern and southern borders to stop Russia from retaliating in any form. * 25 July: Russia and Britain exchange bombings across the North Sea, while Chinese ships clash with American ones in the Pacific. China begins sinking American civilian and cargo ships, leading to much more severe retaliation by America, who starts strafing and bombing Chinese ships. * 26 July: Slovakia and Hungary move their governments to London and surrender. A Russian SAM site in Poland shoots down the Slovak prime minister's plane as he is being moved to Berlin, killing him. India and China begin to demobilize after entering a state of peace, although they agree that this agreement will be revoked if they attack any ally of the opposite nation without being attacked first. America, having not been notified yet, continues attacks on Chinese ships, allowing China to maintain a presence in the conflict. * 27 July: Vladimir Putin sets the target date for an invasion of "the west" as January 1, 2018. * 31 July: Russia begins fortifying its positions along its western territories to prevent retaliation from NATO. August 2017 * 3 August: A revolution in Greece ends in a victory for the Golden Dawn party, which now comprises over half the population (due to the economic collapse and migrant crisis), and the nation withdraws from NATO and enters the conflict on the side of Russia. All NATO and American forces are rounded up and imprisoned, executed, or forced to leave. Russia bombs Hamburg and Amsterdam, while NATO bombs Warsaw and Oslo. * 4 August: NATO and Russia exchange bombing runs. Russia makes the risky decision to continue bombing attacks across the North Sea and to fortify the southern border of Denmark. Italy invades and occupies northern Egypt to prevent attacks on Israel. The Saudis and Jordanians begin drafting plans to invade Iraq and Iran, setting the goal for Iranian defeat as by the end of 2018. The conflict settles into a mass stalemate on all fronts. * 6 August: Russia repulses an airborne attack on its caucasus oil fields, sustaining minimal losses. * 7 August: Germany bombs Gorzow, while Russia bombs Berlin and Hamburg. * 8 August: Russia bombs London for the first time, but its planes are just barely able to make it back in time, and some crash in the sea after running out of fuel. The Russian navy moves several warships to the North Sea and Baltic Sea. * 10 August: Russia bombs the Shetland Islands, while NATO hammers Russian positions all across Europe, and begins drafting plans for the liberation of the continent, tentatively named Operation Overlord (also the name of the liberation of Europe in WW2). * 11 August: Baghdad is bombed, along with Aberdeen and the Orkney Islands. NATO bombs Warsaw, Bergen, and Copenhagen. * 12 August: London is bombed for the second time, as is Berlin. Putin issues orders to his staff to bomb the alliance into capitulation. His generals begin planning the locations, times, and severity of each individual bombing in order to maximize efficiency against NATO. In the meantime, China begins to tip the scales in the Battle of the Pacific. Japan makes temporary peace with Russia and China. * 15 August: Germany bombs targets across eastern Europe, weakening Russia's grip on the region by dealing heavy damage to military sites. * 17 August: Iran is forced to withdraw from many of its military engagements west of Iraq following a series of severe losses at the hands of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. Operation Cyclone, the liberation of Iraq and amphibious invasion of Iran through the Persian Gulf, has its date set for December 15, 2017. * 18 August: Warsaw is heavily bombed by the Germans, while Russian ships are sunk in large numbers in the North Sea by the French and British. At the same time, Russia achieves total air supremacy over the Baltic Sea and Scandinavia. Category:World War III